That Ghost of a Smile
by EeveeTransformed
Summary: Dawn blinked as Paul proceeded to exit the cart, staring dumbfounded for a few more seconds until she practically jumped out of the cart too... And that ghost-smile appeared briefly on his lips once more. Ikarishipping.


**Okie dokies, here's the Ikarishipping Valentine's Day one-shot that I promised****Xxlilytiger556xX, except it is no longer a valentine's day one-shot because I procrastinate WAY too much and I seem to not be able to update anything right now… :) Terribly sorry it's late (like, it's really, really, REALLY late…), but here we go!**

**.:.**

'Alright, girls!' Leaf's voice rang throughout the blue-themed room as she stood up, hands clamped together in front of her. 'Since it's the first sunny day we've had this summer, we're going to go out and do something!'

Dawn lifted her eyes from the magazine she was reading to listen more closely, swivelling around slightly in the aqua desk chair.

May glanced up from where she was splayed out on Misty's azure-covered bed, before she thumper her head back onto the pillow with a soft grunt.

'I just want to eat ice cream all day today because it's actually hot…' she muttered, hands splayed out beside her. Dawn snorted, her navy hair falling over her shoulders as she shook her head in amusement.

'Come on, May, we can get ice-cream there!' she giggled, grin spreading out on her face. May laughed along with her before muttering something about how homemade ice-cream was always better anyway. 'I think it's a great idea! I mean, even though we've been so busy shopping these holidays, the weather's been so dreary that we should make up for it by doing something really fun today!' she squealed in conclusion.

Misty shrugged, leaning backwards against the baby blue walls. 'What could we do, though?'

Leaf hummed thoughtfully. 'Picnic?' she suggested. Dawn shook her head.

'Nah, everyone will be there… it'll be hard to find a spot on the grass.'

'I don't know… we'd get to eat food,' May pointed out. Misty rolled her eyes, and the blue-eyed brunette let out a sheepish laugh.

Leaf sighed. 'I guess that crosses out the beach as well, huh.'

The others nodded.

'Why don't we go to the new amusement park?' Dawn queried, twirling around once more on the desk chair. 'There'll be heaps of people there, but that place is _massive_... and everyone wants to go there, right?'

Misty beamed. 'That's an awesome idea, Dawn!' she praised, patting her bluenette friend on the head jokingly. Dawn giggled, and May's face lit up as well.

'And there will still be heaps of food stands!' she cried triumphantly, pumping a fist into the air as she sat up. Leaf laughed, rolling her eyes.

Dawn turned to Misty's MacBook, opening the lid to check out the rides. Her three closest friends joined her, and they chattered on for the next half hour about which rides they'd go on. Leaf beamed.

Dawn let her own smile grace her face as her fingers pattered on the keyboard.

_Today is going to be great! _

.:.

'Thanks, sir!' Dawn called back as the four girls entered the amusement park.

'Whoa…' May breathed. Dawn nodded in agreement, eyes travelling over the many different rides there were to offer, before May finished her sentence, 'Look at that massive food court!'

Misty deadpanned, bringing her palm to her face, although amusement sparkled in her cerulean gaze. Leaf jumped up and down excitedly.

'Let's go to the Cha Cha first!' she exclaimed, grabbing Dawn's hand and dragging her along. The blue-haired girl laughed, jogging a little so that she could walk beside her best friend. Misty and May caught up quickly, excitement bubbling through each of them.

Dawn beamed. It didn't matter that it had been pouring all summer – the new amusement park was certainly a way to make up for the lost time.

'Four adults please!' Leaf said to the man by the gate. He nodded to each of them as they passed through, clambering into two different seats. Dawn settled down beside May, toes wiggling in excitement. The bar dropped down in front of her, and she felt the brunette stiffen beside her.

'Oh, come on, May, there's no need to worry about a ride!' she soothed, but May just jerked her head in the direction of the gate they had just walked through. Dawn scrunched her eyebrows together. 'What?'

'We have company…' the brunette sighed. Dawn turned her head again, only then noticing the four boys walking onto the ride. Her mouth made a small 'o' shape, and her chest fluttered as she glimpsed a familiar mob of purple hair.

'Morning, ladies.' May scowled as a green haired boy, older than she, squeezed in beside the two girls, stepping over the bar that they were holding on to. 'Looks like I'm stuck squished in here with you two…' He motioned to where the three others were sitting in the cart beside Leaf and Misty's. May rolled her eyes.

'You could always go and get your own cart!' she snapped, folding her arms. Drew's mouth twitched up into a smirk.

'Well I'd fit better if you would cut down on the ramen!' he retorted, folding his hands behind his head. May puffed her cheeks out before she took a deep breath and calmed herself. Dawn stifled a giggle. Those two had such an absurd relationship, and yet you could tell that each cared about the other.

'Just shut up, Drew.'

Dawn hummed along to a nameless tune as more and more people filled up the ride. May and Drew were still arguing about Arceus-knows-what, whilst in the other carts Leaf and Misty were playing some sort of handclapping game and the three boys were talking amongst themselves. Suddenly, Paul turned, onyx gaze catching hers. Her breath hitched and her humming stopped for several seconds as the slightest twitch of his lips showed that he knew she had been watching. A red tint spread over her cheeks, and her eyes travelled instead to her lap, where her hands were resting.

'What do you mean, you don't think I could handle it? Of course I could handle it!' May scoffed from beside her.

'Yeah, right. You'd be dying to hold someone's hand and you'd squeal at everything!' was Drew's retort. Dawn rolled her eyes.

'I would not. That would be _you, _Hayden.'

'You wish, Maple.'

'I know.'

'Fine. After this ride, we go to the Haunted Mansion and I'll see if you can hold out with just me and the mansion there.'

May tensed. Dawn shifted her head, so that she could hear more of their conversation. Haunted Mansion? That sounded like fun. She giggled inwardly. May would end up squealing and clutching onto the nearest object to her – if it were only her and Drew, then… a small smile worked its way onto her face.

'What? Scared, June?' Drew teased. May's eyes narrowed as Dawn watched, and the brunette brought her fist back only to slam it back into the green-haired coordinator's shoulder. He winced slightly.

'I'm not scared,' she hissed, ignoring the fact that he'd used the wrong name. 'I just don't want to go anywhere with _you._'

'But if I'm not with you then how will I know whether you were scared out of your mind or not?' he prompted. Dawn shook her head, blocking out the rest of their argument. Those two could go on for days – she knew from experience.

_The Haunted Mansion… _she mused. It would be a good place to go next, even if Drew tagged along with them.

'Attention all passengers, please remain seated. The ride is about to begin!'

The bickering beside her stopped as all three of them sat up straight from their lounging positions. Dawn bounced in her seat, clutching the bar with a light giggle. May beamed beside her, excitement radiating off of her as if it were an odour.

Dawn's grin soon spread out on her face too, finding May's anticipation contagious. The ride started slowly, the massive structure speeding up as it turned, until all the passengers were screaming, either in excitement, fear or both. Dawn squealed along with them, enjoying the feel of the wind in her face, the feeling of no gravity, her stomach in her chest. May's eyes were wide with fright though, and she ended up with her hands clutched tightly around Dawn's upper arm. Drew smirked at the sight, chartreuse locks streaming out behind him.

'I knew you'd be scared!' he called out over the rushing wind. May glared, eyes narrowing even more than they already were, although this time not because of the speed they were going at. She let go of Dawn's arm immediately, retorting with something the bluenette didn't quite catch. Dawn giggled.

'Oh, you are so going to die in the mansion!'

'I will not!'

Dawn rolled her eyes, preferring instead to appreciate the rush of the ride. A few moments later, the swinging slowed, and they came to a stop. Ash got off looking slightly green, clutching Gary's arm for support. Misty and Leaf were still squealing with excitement when Dawn skipped up to them, avoiding the onyx gaze of Paul as he watched her walk past him. Her legs still felt slightly wobbly, but her face split into a wide grin.

'That was amazing!' she squealed, hugging Misty in her excitement. Leaf beamed beside her. May stormed up soon after.

'Guys, we're going to the Haunted Mansion next,' she practically growled. Misty blinked in surprise.

'But last time you went to a Haunted Mansion ride you pu-' the red-head began, brows furrowed. May cut the gym-leader off with a glare as Drew watched, a smug smirk vivid on his face. Dawn giggled. She had to admit, she _was _kind of jealous of their love-hate relationship. The bluenette knew they cared about each other, and she knew that eventually they'd get together. She just wished she had that kind of relationship with Paul.

Dawn sighed as the girls around her chattered on about something. Not many people knew what she saw in Paul. To everyone he just seemed like a human rock – but he wasn't, she knew. There was more to him, and Dawn was going to find out what it was. She'd seen his soft side once or twice before, and it exhilarated her to no ends… a beam split her face even simply recalling the memories.

'Mind if we joined you?' Gary asked, coming to stand beside Leaf and slinking an arm around her shoulders. Leaf grinned, leaning into her boyfriend's half-embrace. Misty nodded, clasping Ash's hand in her own.

'Yeah, that would be fine. I mean, Drew's already coming, so there's no harm in the rest of you coming too,' she reasoned. May rolled her eyes, shooting a glare in the chartreuse-haired boy's direction.

Dawn nodded too, barely noticing how fast they arrived at the ride. Her face was heated up, tingles running through her arm because a certain onyx-eyed trainer had accidentally brushed her hand on his way past her.

'So, there are two to a cart, right? Well, May is with Drew and I already promised to go with Gary, so you guys get to choose yours, okay?' Leaf stated, her hand interlocked with the smug-looking brunette, who was waggling his eyebrows at Paul. Dawn furrowed hers, confused, but didn't question it when Gary then turned to look her way.

The bluenette turned to Misty, not sure whether to be squealing in joy or screaming in dread when the red-head mouthed 'sorry' and grabbed Ash's arm, leaving her with Paul. She laughed nervously.

'Well, I guess that leaves you and me, right Paul?' she asked, wincing as her voice came out a nervous squeak. He eyed her indifferently, scowling as he walked past Gary.

'I'm going to murder you, Oak,' he hissed, just loud enough for Dawn to hear. His face visibly paled. Leaf winked at her, giving her the thumbs up as Dawn took her seat next to Paul. She sighed.

'What did Gary do to you, anyway?' she asked the tall purple-haired eighteen year-old. He turned his black stare onto her cerulean one, making her glad that she was sitting down, and her legs couldn't collapse beneath her. His gaze scrutinised her for a second before he sighed gruffly.

'Everything.'

A small smile graced Dawn's lips as she regarded him, and she laughed behind closed lips. He just seemed so handsome, so perfect at that moment. Hand supporting his chin as he stared ahead, lavender hair ruffling ever so slightly with the breeze that reached the tunnel – how could she _not _find him completely adorable. Paul turned at the sound of her giggle, noting the way her face lit up when she was happy.

'What?' he asked roughly. Dawn shrugged, leaning back.

'Nothing…'

But no, that wasn't it. _Everything _about him inspired her. A low droning sound signalled the start of the ride and Dawn squeaked in surprise – not fright, she told herself. She wouldn't show any weakness in front of this guy, although she noticed the short eye-roll he sent her way.

Ten minutes later and Dawn didn't know what had happened. Her face was buried in the toned arm of the young adult next to her, muffling her squeaks of fear as she shivered. Her eyes were covered, although the blood-curling screams that reached her ears still freaked her out to no ends. The navy-haired girl groaned. _Why _did May insist on going on this ride anyway?

She heard faintly the shriek of May somewhere in the background, floating down the tunnel that the haunted mansion rollercoaster was currently flying down. It was only when Paul gave her a rough shake that Dawn peeked out from huddled position; she breathed a sigh of relief as the light signalling the end of the ride appeared ahead. Only then did she realise what she'd been clutching onto the whole ride, and her face flushed a bright red.

Paul chuckled lightly, a ghost of a smile spreading across his lips – barely there, but enough for the navy haired girl to see.

'Oh, Paul, I'm really sorry, I was just kind of scared back there with the dark and everything and with that skeleton and the dead girl –well, she obviously wasn't a real girl, but it was still pretty freaky – and then the screams and the ghosts and everything else I just needed to… yeah, but I'm fine now, we can forget that ever happened so there's no need to wo-' Her ramble was cut short as the plum-haired boy spoke.

'It was fine.'

'No, Paul, I really don't-'

'Troublesome, forget it. I didn't care.'

'You… didn't?'

Dawn gave him a half-puzzled, half-scathing look. It wasn't as if Paul really cared about much, she reasoned with herself, but the bluenette knew that the older boy certainly wasn't into public displays of affection. Not that that was really public, or that it really counted as affection, but Dawn certainly enjoyed it. It was the only thing in the ride that had been worth it, she concluded.

The same almost-not-there smile came to his face once more, and his onyx eyes stared ahead as the ride slowly halted outside, the light blinding them momentarily.

'As long as you're the only person who does that, then it's fine.'

Dawn blinked as Paul proceeded to exit the cart, staring dumbfounded for a few more seconds until she practically jumped out of the cart too, racing to stand beside him, finding her fondness escalating rapidly with his last sentence.

And, the navy haired girl noticed, as she grasped his rough hand in hers, that ghost-smile appeared briefly on his lips once more.

**.:.**

**Well. That. Was. Awful. I'm really sorry to all the people who expected more, but honestly I could not break through my writer's block, not to mention I've been watching documentaries and all that stuff, and listening to lectures in monotone voices, I've been caught up with my university work, and I don't normally write Ikarishipping. Oh well. I gave it a shot, tell me what you think =S**

**Oh, and please like my Facebook page :3 Just search EeveeTransformed - the DP there is my DP here, and vice versa :) THANKS!**

**~Eevee**


End file.
